KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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OCTOBER 16, 2014 | Volume 27 No. 123
RIGHT TO DIE? TODAY’S WEATHER
Sun and clouds High 16 C Low 10 C
THE CROWN C IS C COMING OMING
Prestigious restigious curling event hits the ice tomorrow
The debate continues in Supreme Court
A17
A16
Emptier and fuller downtown
TRU monitors Ebola crisis
CAM FORTEMS
STAFF REPORTER
cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
Kamloops’ downtown is seeing a contrary trend of the highest office vacancy rates and the lowest retail vacancies in two years. The numbers were compiled by Colliers Kamloops, one of the city’s major commercial and industrial realestate firms. Driven by new tenants in Lansdowne Village, the retail vacancy rate downtown dropped by 2.5 per cent — what Colliers called the lowest in two years. A year ago, the rate was 9.5 per cent, but dropped to 6.93 per cent in the most recent survey. Katie Martin, a marketing and research coordinator with Colliers in Kamloops, acknowledged numbers can vary based on new leasing, or sudden vacancy, of a large space and vary from quarter to quarter. The office vacancy rate, meanwhile, is increasing due to what Martin said is flight to the North Shore, for its lower rents, and to Sahali, for its proximity to major retail stores. See PARKING, A6
DALE BASS
STAFF REPORTER
dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
ANDREA KLASSEN/KTW
Vision Kamloops members running for a seat on city council are, from left, Brad Harrison, Dieter Dudy, Daphane Nelson, Denis Walsh and Jenny Green.
UNITING WITH A VISION
CIVICELECTION CAMPAIGN FEATURES FIVEPERSON SLATE ANDREA KLASSEN STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
They call themselves Vision Kamloops, but it’s not yet clear what issues have led five candidates for Kamloops city council to form an alliance as the 2014 municipal campaign gets underway. Candidates Jenny Green, Daphne Nelson, Dieter Dudy, Brad Harrison and Denis Walsh told media at a press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 14, they agreed
on the weekend to work together during the campaign, but are still sorting out details of a shared platform. “When you have a number of candidates out there that have filed, they’re running for council, and we find afterwards we have a fit with each other and want to get together. You still have to take the time to build your platform properly,” Dudy said. “But, in all fairness to the community and in all fairness to you, the media, we wanted to let you
know that we did exist.” Dudy, a Westsyde farmer, said Vision Kamloops intends to focus on the long-term future of the city. “I think, over the last number of years, we’ve concentrated on short-term thinking,” he said. “We need to get beyond that. That’s what our vision is.” While members of the group declined to explain what issues brought them together, all five said they oppose the proposed Ajax copper and gold mine. See VISION A10
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Thompson Rivers University is holding regular meetings between its international and riskmanagement offices to monitor the Ebola situation. TRU vice-president of advancement Christopher Seguin said the university also has a pandemic plan in place and has confidence the Canadian Border Services Agency monitoring system is a strong first point of identification that will help identify anybody arriving who has the contagious virus. Seguin said there are no students at the university from the hardest-hit African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and no confirmed students for the January 2015 intake. Seguin said there has been no business travel by staff or faculty in recent weeks to the affected countries. Should any international students plan to travel abroad,
Seguin said, they are required to give the university their travel plans, which will be monitored to determine if there is travel to affected regions. With just 20 people in his homeland having contracted Ebola, Thompson Rivers University student Toondey Obafemi Joey is confident Nigeria has beaten down the deadly disease. But, he still has that lingering worry for family members in the West African country, a hope they don’t get sick as have thousands in other countries on the continent. Joey’s confidence stems from knowing the Nigerian government put in place procedures and checks to monitor the spread of the virus when it first appeared through a lawyer who collapsed in an airport. As of yesterday (Oct. 15), the World Health Organization said Nigeria is days away from being declared Ebola-free. See GOVERNMENT, A4
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